Biography

I have been an
enthusiastic member of the Laurier Brantford community since 2009. The route to Brantford was not a
straightforward one, academically speaking: I arrived at LB on the heels of completing my
PhD at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health where I
critically explored the intersection of theatre and public health research. Before enrolling at U of T I worked as a
Health Promoter at York University, and sexual health educator in New York
City, where I also completed my Master’s Degree in Performance Studies. Prior to this, I lived in New Brunswick where
I did a combined interdisciplinary degree of Drama and Women’s Studies. My academic interests have always been
extremely varied, so I feel incredibly lucky to find myself at a small campus
that values interdisciplinarity and supports my work as both a critical scholar
and an academic with an arts-based practice. My current research involves the use of art to facilitate storytelling with institutional survivors.

Beyond my academic work
I am an avid baker, a novice jogger, a sucky dog owner, and the proud mama of one active, delightful
toddler: Ruby.

Additional Information

I am currently the Women’s Faculty Colleague for the Brantford
Campus. Please do not hesitate to
contact me with questions or concerns about issues regarding gender and equity
on campus.

Research interests

My areas of research are diverse, and take multiple forms. I am interested theatre as a mechanism for
engaging health and bioethics research, and explore this area from both a
theoretical and an applied perspective as a practicing playwright. Most recently I worked with Dr. Rebecca
Godderis on a large historical research-based theatre production exploring
ethical issues inherent within pandemic influenza planning and response
entitled “Abide With Me: A Story of Two Pandemics.” Currently, I am
beginning a new creative project that explores the nature of institutionalization
through the history of institutions for developmentally disabled people in
Ontario. Further interests include
understanding the lived experience of the social determinants of health (SDOH)
through creative teaching methodologies, and in particular the use of board
games (see www.thelaststraw.ca for details); and the impact of
neo-liberalism and the knowledge economy on systems of inquiry and daily bodily
practices.

Selected Publications

Rossiter, K and Clarkson, A. (2013). "Opening Ontario's 'Saddest Chapter': A Social History of the Huronia Regional Centre." Journal of Canadian Disability Studies.

Rossiter, K. (2012). “Talking Turkey: Anxiety, Public Health Stories and the
Responsibilization of Health.” Journal of Canadian Studies. 46(20): 176-195.

Godderis,
R. and Rossiter, K. (2011). ‘If you have a soul you will volunteer at
once’: Gendered expectations of duty to care during pandemics. Sociology
of Health and Illness.

Rossiter, K. and
Reeve, K. (2010). It's Your Turn!:
Exploring the Benefits of a Traditional Board Game for the Development of
Learning Communities. In F. Edvardsen
and H. Kulle (eds), Educational
Games: Design, Learning and
Applications. New York: Nova Publishers.

Polzer, J., Power, E., Rossiter, K., Thompson, A., Wakewich, P., and Wynn, F.Peer
Mentoring for Critical Pedagogy in Health Education: Findings from a Workshop
on Teaching Social Determinants of Health (SDH) in Undergraduate Settings.
Biennial Conference of the Canadian Society for the Sociology of Health,
Ottawa, October 25-27, 2012.